Submitting certified copies of qualifications

We will often request officially verified copies of your qualifications, either as part of your offer or to verify previous study which you have stated on your UCAS application form. If you are sitting an overseas qualification, you will need to provide us with certified copies of your results. We are generally able to verify summer IB, A level, Pre-U, and Scottish Higher results via UCAS.

If we require proof of any previous qualifications, this will be stated on your offer letter, e.g., "Please provide certified verification of your 2015 Mathematics A level".

It is vital that you provide correctly certified copies of your qualifications. Failure to do so can result in a delay in making your offer unconditional.

Proof of Qualification Form You may include, if you wish, a copy of our 'Proof of Qualification' form. This will help ensure that you include all the information that we require to process your qualifications promptly. All offer holders who are asked to submit verification of qualifications will receive a copy of this form with the offer pack.
Ensuring your documents are correctly certified We require photocopies to be validated by a recognised authority. Photocopies of your certificates/results slips must meet the following four conditions:

1) Each page must be originally signed by your head teacher or other teacher from your school, or by a British Council official. Please note that we can only accept handwritten signatures.

2) The signatory must also print their name.

3) The signatory must also include their job title.

4) Each page must also contain the original school or British Council stamp (not photocopied).

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept certified copies that do not contain all of the above information. You should also note that not all British Councils will verify your certificates.

The example provided below shows a document which meets the four requirements for providing correctly certified copies of your qualification(s).

When and how to submit your certified documents

We will enclose with your Offer Guide a ‘Proof of Qualification’ form, which you can include when you post us your verified documents. This will help to ensure that we process your qualifications promptly.

Note: We are unable to accept certified copies that do not feature all four of the above requirements on each page.

You should submit any certified official documents we have requested as soon as possible. These must be received by post no later than Tuesday 1 August 2017. This date is the same for 2017 applicants and for 2018 deferred applicants.

If you are an international student you should send in your documents as soon as possible as we cannot issue your CAS statement until you hold an unconditional offer.

Please note we operate a five day turnaround time in processing incoming post, which may mean that your documents are not processed immediately. Please allow five working days from the date we received your items before contacting us, to give us time to process them.

We can now verify the following English language qualifications online:

English Language

English Language

English Language

How to verify with us

IELTS

Supply us with the TRF number from your certificate.

PTEA

Release results to our institution via your account

CPE

Your 'secret' 4 digit number and 9 digit ID number.

CAE

Your 'secret' 4-digit number and 9 digit ID number.

TOEFL

Confirm your date of birth and supply us with your TOEFL registration number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will you accept a faxed or scanned copy of my results?No. We need to see a certified copy for official purposes and for you to be able to register. A fax or scanned copy is therefore insufficient.

Will you accept laminated copies of my official result sheets?No. We need to be able to verify that documents have not been tampered with in any way. Laminated documents make this difficult to do.

Can I submit my original documents? Yes, if your original documents have not been altered in any way. You may submit these to us by post and we will return them to you via regular first class mail.

Note: We do not return documents via DHL or registered post, and cannot take any responsibility for documents that are lost in the mail. For these reasons we strongly suggest you send in certified photocopies instead.

What happens if I cannot provide evidence of my qualifications before the start of term?If you cannot provide certified evidence of your requested qualification(s), you will not be able to register with the School. If the School finds that the examinations/qualifications you have declared on your UCAS form are inaccurate or you are unable to verify them, the School reserves the right to withdraw the offer or cancel your application.

What should I do if my results are not in English?Documents must be in English or officially translated into English. You will need to obtain a certified original translation which must be officially stamped by the translator.

This service can usually be provided by your local university, embassy or translation service. Alternatively, the LSE Language Centre offers a translation service: see their website for more details. Please note that it is the responsibility of the applicant to arrange for a translation of his/her documents.

Use of this website is subject to, and implies acceptance of, its Terms of use (including Copyright and intellectual property, Privacy and data protection and Accessibility). The London School of Economics and Political Science is a School of the University of London. It is a charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Acts (Reg no. 70527).The registered office address of the School is: The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK; Tel: +44 (0)20 7405 7686